Blast from the past

Tony came across this when googling. Took him back a little. Have a look at that 'oh so cool'driver!
Tony at about 20 ish.

And another.

You can laugh,I used to work on them!! I served my apprentiship at a British Leyland dealership selling Leylands,Albions,Scammels,AEC'S and Guys.I remember the Scammels having an assortment of engine and gearboxes and they normally had a gate change gearlever.

wezgit daan saaf wrote:You can laugh,I used to work on them!! I served my apprentiship at a British Leyland dealership selling Leylands,Albions,Scammels,AEC'S and Guys.I remember the Scammels having an assortment of engine and gearboxes and they normally had a gate change gearlever.

Tony was just telling me about the gear box - and the fact that he drove them across the country at the maximum speed of 38mph - uhill and down!
He says he later went to the Scammel crusader with the Rolls Royce engine. He says the time when lorries were lorries!

38mph!!! boy that was recordbreaking in those days!! You ought to have driven the mighty BMC FG with it's humungous 2.2 indirect injection engine and 4 speed crash gearbox!! And Stanley Baxter made the trucks look so fast in the film Hell Drivers!!
Scammel Crusader,boy what a beast that was,one of the biggest trucks in it's class at the time,with it's big flip up front panel to attend to all the services,never got to drive them,just to mend them,I'm jealous.
On another note,one of my best memories was when I remember having an 8 wheel Foden in with a 6 cylinder sleeve valve 2 stroke engine,all six cylinder heads were made of bronze and both rear differential worm drive crown wheels were bronze as well - scrap mans heaven.No wonder there arn't many about now. As far as the Rolls Royce engines, we had a Rolls royce trained mechanic who wore a Rolls Royce pin badge and he was the only one allowed to do warranty repairs on them,I remember that when they were cold they would fill the workshop up with white smoke.And just think,my first year as an apprentice was taken up with sweeping the workshop and empying oil drainers!

wezgit daan saaf wrote:38mph!!! boy that was recordbreaking in those days!! You ought to have driven the mighty BMC FG with it's humungous 2.2 indirect injection engine and 4 speed crash gearbox!! And Stanley Baxter made the trucks look so fast in the film Hell Drivers!!
Scammel Crusader,boy what a beast that was,one of the biggest trucks in it's class at the time,with it's big flip up front panel to attend to all the services,never got to drive them,just to mend them,I'm jealous.
On another note,one of my best memories was when I remember having an 8 wheel Foden in with a 6 cylinder sleeve valve 2 stroke engine,all six cylinder heads were made of bronze and both rear differential worm drive crown wheels were bronze as well - scrap mans heaven.No wonder there arn't many about now. As far as the Rolls Royce engines, we had a Rolls royce trained mechanic who wore a Rolls Royce pin badge and he was the only one allowed to do warranty repairs on them,I remember that when they were cold they would fill the workshop up with white smoke.And just think,my first year as an apprentice was taken up with sweeping the workshop and empying oil drainers!

Tony says he learned to drive trucks in a Thames Trader but has also driven a BMC FG - which was a shunter they had. He also drove a Commer with flat 4(?) He reckons the best sounding lorry ever. Then he finished up driving Scaniers - 141s.

I think he is feeling his age! - Living in the past having seen those pics of him on the internet!
He says that's why he has the forearms he has!

Mmm,the Commer TS3 (Tilling Stevens) 3 cylinder 6 piston 2 stroke,what a brilliant sounding engine.You still see a few about at classic car and truck shows.2 pistons in one bore,follow the link;


http://www.sa.hillman.org.au/TS3.htm

Yep - he says that was the one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0sLp7wvq60&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrAoj5Cuu68&feature=related

2 Stroke diesels, Ummmmmm!

Wow!! Unbeleivable!! Hark at that Rootes blower screeming. That was the achillees heel,the shaft to the blower used to break,it was about 2 foot long and about 1/2" in diameter